


Some Not-so-hard Truths

by Alioc



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Comfort, Demiromantic Character, F/M, Fluff, queerplatonic mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 20:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5389580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alioc/pseuds/Alioc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an awkward encounter, Papyrus learns that adulthood is far more complicated that he thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Not-so-hard Truths

A bad dream pulled Papyrus from sleep. He jerked up in his racecar bed with a yelp, panting and sweating from the shock of what his mind had just imagined. This happened quite often, and although he wasn’t ever sure what his dreams were about – he generally forgot them as soon as he woke up – they were always enough to make his non-existent heart pound against his hollow ribcage. 

Usually when a dream hit, he would turn to his brother. He and Sans shared a room in their new home on the surface, in a small house also shared by Toriel and Frisk. It was a nice; small and quaint, with just enough room for the newly formed family. 

Tonight, however, when Papyrus turned to wake up Sans, he found his dishevelled bed totally empty. The room had a quiet chill to it, still and utterly dark, save for a nightlight glowing in the corner. The whole scene was unnerving to say the least.

“Sans?” he asked, more to himself than anyone else. Where on earth could that lazybones be? It definitely wasn’t like him to miss sleep. Papyrus was slightly worried now. He made to get out of bed before a small, muffled noise caught in his skull. He sat still, not sure if he heard it or not, and waited, unmoving and with a held breath, trying to catch another trace of it.

“Mmmmm.’ A low, vibrating sound, like a deep voice.

It was odd; like a mix between Napstablook’s ghostly drawl and something far deeper, more gravelly than the ghost’s high pitched whines. As Papyrus quietly made his way to the door, the voices got louder. Yes, he decided, they were definitely voices. They sounded strained, slightly painful even. He could almost make out a word, but the wood of his door was too thick for any defined sound to pass through. He gently pushed it open, trying hard not to wake Frisk in the next room, and poked his head out the doorframe.

He could hear the voices clearer now. They were low, and rumbling, occasionally saying hushed words that he still struggled to make out, and they were coming from Toriel’s room. Her door was at the far end of the hall, and a gentle, blue-tinged glow radiated from all around the frame. Papyrus raised an eyebrow, wondering what the Queen was also doing up this late, when he was startled by a sudden, distinctive voice.

“Ah! P-please…”

That was definitely Toriel. “The Queen is in trouble!” Papyrus said in a whisper, which was still all too loud for the silent hallway. He ran to Toriel’s door, a “THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PROTECT HIS BELOVED QUEEN” about to escape his lips, when he caught another voice from inside the room.

“Mmm, Tori. God, please don’t stop.”

Strange, that sounded like Sans. But surely he was mistaken. What business could Sans possibly have in the queen’s room in the middle of the night?

“Oh! Oh, F-fuck, Tori.”

Nope, that was definitely Sans. Papyrus had never met a monster with such disdain for proper English. Well, besides Undyne, but that was only when she was very angry. Was Sans angry with Toriel? 

Papyrus pressed his skull to the wood of the door, listening intently. Hm, they didn’t sound like they were arguing. Toriel was letting out short, choppy breaths, sometimes saying Sans in a gentle, calm moan. Sans himself was gasping between deep, low groans. He sounded exhausted. Typical, Pap thought. The lazy skeleton was always running out of breath whenever he did anything.

Papyrus also picked up the muffled noise of fabric crinkling and rubbing together. What on earth were the two doing in there? Were they jumping on the bed? No, Toriel would never do that. Were they building a pillow fort? But that wouldn’t explain the gasping and moaning.

Finally, Papyrus decided to look for himself. He held his breath, determined to not disturb their commotion. After all, Undyne always said that the best way to observe something was to see it as it was happening. He reached for the door and gently pushed it open, and was met instantly by the loud sound of two monsters…well…

Sans was almost lost from sight, nestled between Toriel’s raised thighs and leaning over to nuzzle into her neck. Toriel herself was letting out strained squeaks, a breathless smile on her lips, fingers twisted in the skeleton’s ribs. The blue glow covered the pair, seemingly emanating from Sans’ eye socket and somewhere quite lower. Both monsters stopped their actions immediately at the sound of Papyrus’ surprised gasp, the glow vanishing instantly.

“Papyrus!” Toriel yelped, moving away from Sans and scrambling to cover herself with a bedsheet. “Oh my word, Papyrus I am so sorry you had to see this!”

Sans, on the other hand merely sat, both eye sockets now empty and black, a look of pure mortification on his face. Papyrus really didn’t need to see that. 

“Um, Sans?” Papyrus asked, slightly concerned about his big brother’s vacant stare. He lingered in the doorway, not daring to intrude any more than he already had. “What exactly did I just interrupt?”

“Wait,” Toriel began, forgetting her embarrassment and moving into mother mode. She reached for a lamp in the darkness, turning it on and looking at Papyrus with gentle concern. “Has no one educated you on the matter of sex?” 

Papyrus shook his head no, and Toriel turned to Sans, amused and ready to scold. “Sans, do you really mean to tell me that you let your brother reach his early twenties without giving him the proper knowledge of adulthood? My word, even for you this is lazy.” He shrugged in reply.

“Yes, Sans,” Papyrus agreed, confused but always hurt to be left in the dark. “How could you keep such things a secret from your own brother? The Great Papyrus must have knowledge of every important thing in the world if he is to ever live up to his title! And please, Sans, put your pants back on.”

“Well,” he muttered sheepishly, a genuine grin working its way onto his face at the playful scolding of Toriel and the indignant cries of his brother. “A good time never came up, I suppose.”

“Oh nonsense, Sans.” She stood up off the bed and slipped on a robe before handing the still stark naked skeleton his shorts. “Come on, now is as good a time as any.”

 

~

 

“Okay, Papyrus,” Toriel began once they were all seated at the dining room table. The room was small and cosy, and a gentle warm glow from the hearth illuminated the three monsters. “Please tell me how much you know about sexual matters.”

“Umm…” Papyrus looked confused already. “Nothing?”

“Nothing! But how is that possible? Has your brother not told you anything at all?”

Sans had his head to the table, face alight with a blue blush and doing everything in his power to avoid Toriel’s incredulous gaze. “I told ya, Tori,” he said, voice muffled, “A good time never came up.” The poor skeleton was beyond mortified to be finally having this conversation with his baby brother, and with his girlfriend mediating, of all people. 

He had strictly avoided telling Papyrus about adult stuff. Hell, he’d even gone as far as threatening Undyne with her life if she ever let any lewd comments slip. It just didn’t sit well with him knowing that Pap, with the proper knowledge, could ever do the things that other adult monsters did. “Besides, he never asked.”

“Sans, I’m surprised at you! As the eldest it is your responsibility to imbue your brother with all the knowledge a parent could not provide!” Her voice was motherly and critical, but her face remained calm, a playful smirk playing on the corners of her lips. Sans smiled up at her lovingly; he could never get enough of this woman’s grin when she was teaching. Her whole face seemed to light up, so purely happy to be able to share her knowledge with others.

Turning back to Papyrus, she addressed him bluntly. “Papyrus, do you understand how babies are conceived?”

Sans sputtered in surprise, shooting his head towards his brother. Uh oh, he thought. What was that story he had told Pap as a kid?

“Why, yes!” Papyrus grinned proudly. “Sans says that when two monsters share deep affection for each other, their magic mixes together very mysteriously, and then one of the monsters wishes for a baby on an echo flower, and when the flower dies a baby sprouts from the stem!”

She glared at Sans, annoyed at his lies and, despite herself, beyond amused by his creativity. “Not quite, I'm afraid. The actual mechanics of how a baby is created is slightly more advanced than wishing on flowers. 

Sans audibly gulped beside her, knowing exactly where this was going. “You see, when two monsters meet, sometimes they feel a special connection to each other that goes further than the basic parameters of friendship. This connection is called attraction.

“There are two types of attraction: romantic, which is the emotion that inspires the need to hug, kiss, woo and treasure another, and sexual, which is an attraction to a monsters physical form. Often when romantic attraction is felt, monsters may desire to become romantically involved. This includes dating, shared living arrangements, long time commitments, and sometimes marriage.

She paused. “When sexual attraction is felt, however, well…”

 

ONE AWKWARD SEX TALK LATER

 

“…And that is where babies come from. Toriel concluded. It was nearly daybreak by the time she had finished her lecture, and gentle light filtered in from the morning sunrise. Surprisingly enough, Sans had eventually gotten over his embarrassment and had helped considerably to lower the tension between monsters during the talk. Despite his nature to keep his little brother innocent and pure, he really did feel the need to help him understand such a heavy concept.

“Alright Pap, that’s pretty much it,” he said with a tired sigh. Both him and Toriel had gotten no sleep all night, and it showed on their weathered faces. “Congratulations, you pass boning 101”

“Sans!” Papyrus chastised, blushing slightly. My oh my did he have a lot to be embarrassed about. Despite Sans’ valiant effort to keep him comfortable with a subtle pun here and there, Toriel’s information had been blunt and graphic. His cheekbones were burning with magical heat, his jaw aching from constant clenches. However, despite her very thorough introduction to basic biology, Papyrus was not satisfied.

“Toriel?” he ventured, looking into the warm eyes of the queen. “There are a few things I still don’t understand.”

She smiled at him calmly, glad that he was taking all of this new information well. “Please, dear. Do not be afraid to ask.”

“Yeah, bro. We both wanna make sure you undersans everything.”

A giggle from Toriel and a groan from Papyrus, before he asked: “So, you say that monsters have these things called ‘genitals’,” Sans winced slightly at the word, so wrong on his baby brother’s tongue. “And they use them for the act of child production.”

“Yes, Papyrus, that is correct.” She beamed proudly at him, and he continued.

“But skeletons have no genitals. How is it that they are able to procreate?”

Toriel hesitated for a moment. To be honest, she didn’t quite fully understand how it was that her boyfriend was able to engage in sexual activities with her. It seemed to just sort of happen. Luckily enough, he was more than happy to answer the question for her.

“Simple, Pap,” he said, propping his head on a hand and gesturing dramatically with the other. “Magic.”

Papyrus groaned, but continued. “Secondly, how does one know if they wish to have such an intimate relationship with another?”

“Believe me, dear, you will know. The feeling is unmistakeable.”

Oh. He was expecting a more technical response, and the casual undertones of knowing from Toriel set Papyrus slightly at unease. He shook it off, determined to understand this fully before he addressed any of that.

“My third question is this: If this thing you call sex is essential for making babies,” he paused, checking to see if he was correct. A nod from Toriel and he continued again. “Then were you and Sans trying to fall pregnant when I interrupted you?”

Both Toriel and Sans jerked upright, blushing madly at the miscommunication they had caused. Sans stammered to correct his brother, but Papyrus misread their silence as embarrassed affirmation, and stopped Sans with a gleeful cheer.

“Why brother, that’s fantastic!”

“Wait, Pap no-“

“Just imagine, I would be an uncle!”

“Papyrus, dear, please-“

“The Great Uncle Papyrus! Yes, I very much like that! Although I am already an excellent uncle to Frisk, but-“

“PAPYRUS!” Sans and Toriel shouted together, instantly silencing the taller skeleton, his face dropping in surprise. They both felt bad for yelling, especially when Papyrus could not see his error, but it had to be done.

Toriel spoke first. “Papyrus, while me and Sans were doing, um, that, I can assure you we are not planning on having children anytime soon.”

“Oh,” his face fell. “Then why were you two having sex?”

Toriel blushed again, embarrassed that the conversation was steering towards more personal information. Sans stepped in to save her the pain. “Well, Pap. Most of the time people do it because it brings them closer.” He smiled up at Toriel, as warmly as a skeleton can manage. “Like, when me and Tori are together, it’s basically the most intimate two people can be. There’s no secrets and no reservations. It’s just me and her, and it’s great. 

The pair was happily sharing a moment together, but a worried frown fell over Papyrus’ face. Sans noticed almost instantly. “What’s up, bro?”

Papyrus hesitated for a minute, suddenly becoming uncharacteristically quiet. “Am I, am I supposed to feel this way about people? To see them and desire something more that friendship with them? To be in love with them, and want to kiss them and have sex with them?”

“What makes you ask that, Pap?”

“Well, you say you have these strong emotional feelings for Toriel, feelings that compel you to involve yourself in these intimate situations. You and the Queen share a romantic bond, one with kissing and hugging and… other things.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Sans was confused.

“Well, the Great Papyrus has never had such feelings. Of course, I am no stranger to the concept of romantic love. In fact I would consider myself a dating expert! Just ask Frisk,” he beamed.

Toriel snapped her head to Sans with a questioning glare, but he brushed her off with a tired sigh and a look that said don’t worry, nothing happened. 

“Anyway, although I understand romance, but I am unsure if I have ever experienced it first hand.” He sighed gently, turning his gaze downwards. “I was led to believe that romance started with friendship, and then blossomed into love.”

“Yeah, Pap, that’s right. That’s exactly what happened with me and Tori.”

“But it isn’t right!” he whined in despair, bringing his hands to the sides of his skull. “I have many friends now, more than I have ever had, and while I care deeply for them all, I do not wish to be romantically intimate with any of them! And now, on top of that, there is a whole new level to romantic relationships that I do not understand! You say that friendship lead you to romance, but now I realise that romance leads to Sex! It is far more complex than I thought…”

“Papyrus,” Toriel crooned, “please tell us what is wrong.”

His next few words were so pained that Sans swore his soul would break. “What if I do not desire that sort of relationship? Or relationships at all?” the older monsters were silent, taking in what Papyrus had said. He continued, his voice rising in panic at every word. “I do not wish to be in a relationship if it leads to such intimate kissing and hugging and sexual acts. It isn’t… it isn’t right for me, and if I cannot commit to such acts then I won’t be able to be in any relationship at all and-”

Toriel turned to Sans, but he was already leaning forward, taking his hands in his own and looking up to meet Pap’s eyes with an earnest look. “It’s okay, Papyrus, I know what you mean exactly.”

He perked up slightly. “You do? But how?”

“Pap, we’re skeletons. Sex isn’t in our bones.” He chuckled before continuing. “Believe me, when it comes to attraction, I’ve never looked at someone and instantly thought I wanted anything remotely like that from them.”

“But Sans, if you do not desire sex, then why are you in a relationship with Toriel?”

Sans sighed, a knowing grin on his face. He had been exactly where Pap was now at one point, and he remembered all too clearly how confusing it had all been. “Papyrus, listen to me. Sex does not, I repeat, does not, define a relationship. Like I said, I’m not the kinda guy who gets all riled up just at the sight of someone. Hell, before I met Tori I wasn’t even interested in romance, let alone sex.” And that was true. For many years Sans had scoffed at the idea of a romantic relationship. Letting someone else in to the mess that was his life seemed bad enough, but to let himself be as physically vulnerable as he was mentally? The very notion was unthinkable.

“But a lot’s changed since then,” he continued. “I got to know Tori so well, and before I knew it I was skull over heels. We were together, not romantically or physically, but we just knew that we were in something more than a simple friendship. Toriel isn’t like you and me though; she’s a flesh monster, and most of them are into the whole intimacy thing. But she understood. We talked about it a lot, and we worked it all out. Eventually I came around to the idea, and I even let her jump my bones. But it didn’t change anything.”

“But you said earlier that sex has brought you closer together!”

Toriel stepped in. “It was not the sex that did that, Papyrus, it was the honesty. When Sans was able to admit his reservations to me, we could work through them together, until there was truly nothing hidden between us.”

“Exactly. Even though we decided to do that stuff in the end, we were just as close to each other when we were being honest. You don’t need sex or romance to keep a good relationship if you find someone who’s okay with going without. You can still have a relationship if you want one, it just takes a ton of compromise.”

Papyrus was calmer now, but still confused. “Then why, brother, after all that emotional connecting, did you decide to have sex in the end?”

“Because I love Tori,” he answered bluntly with a shrug, “and sex makes her happy. I’d do anything to see her happy.” Toriel beamed down at him with a happy blush, only souring when he added: “Plus, it’s really fun.”

The smaller skeleton laughed heartily at Toriel’s reaction, and even Papyrus let out a soft “nyeh heh heh.” He was beyond relieved to learn that his concerns were understood and shared by his brother, and so very happy to learn that his future romantic endeavours, if any, would not be in vain. 

The two older monsters stood up with shared groans, Toriel moving to boil some water for their morning tea, and Sans circling the table to rest a hand on Pap’s shoulder.

“You okay. Bro?” he asked gently. “I know how complicated all this stuff can be.”

“Why yes, Sans! Now that I, The Great Papyrus, have learnt the ultimate dating techniques, I am ready to conquer the world of relationships! Sex cannot stop me!” he was shouting now, silenced only by the gentle tug of a child on his gloved hand.

“Uncle Pap, what’s ‘sex’ mean?”


End file.
